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removing my jacket.
    “ Thought you were sick.”
    “ Oh, that,” he said, scratching his chin. “That was just me being a big baby.” He bent down and kissed me on the lips.  
    “ Where’s Brian?” I asked.  
    “ I told him he could drive my car over to Nick’s,” he said, the warm candlelight playing over his face.  
    “ I see. I suppose you think you’re going to get lucky tonight,” I teased.  
    “ Luck has nothing to do with it,” he said as he unbuttoned my blouse. Then he picked me up, deposited me gently on the bed, and kissed me again, slow and soft, the way he used to when we first met. “Can you forgive me for being such a selfish prick?” he implored, holding my face in his hands and starting to kiss my neck.
    “ Well, I can see you’re trying very hard to make it up to me.”
    I closed my eyes and willed myself to feel something. Anything. Unfortunately, my heart just wasn’t in it. And why not? Maybe it was the fact that I had just been through a traumatic ordeal. Or maybe it was merely the absence of passion between us that had existed for so long. Images of Rita68 danced through my mind.
    But wanting to avoid a quarrel, I let him undress me anyway. I was simply too tired to say no.  

 
    Chapter 9
    Monday, November 8
     
     
    I stood in the shower for a long time, letting the hot water wash over me. Life was peculiar. Daniel’s tenderness the night before had astonished me, but I didn’t entirely trust it. He was probably just feeling guilty about his Internet love affair, or whatever it was. I didn’t want to admit to myself that my heart was already resigned. Daniel and I were just going through the motions of man and wife. We were both to blame.
    I decided to put my marital woes out of my mind for the time being. There were other issues to contend with. Knowing I had to pull myself together and get back to work was a relief of sorts. I needed the distraction. As I was readying myself for my return to the office, Daniel came into the bedroom, suitcase in hand, dressed in his customary business attire. He dropped the bag and extended his arms to me.  
    “ I can postpone my trip ‘till the end of the month. It’s not too late,” he said, feigning a pout. He was putting on a good act. 
    “ Brian and I can survive a few days without you.”
    “ I know, but you need me right now. I already feel like an ass as it is. Better yet, why don’t you come on this trip with me? Miami will be warm and sunny. You can lounge by the pool while I’m in my meetings. Brian can take care of himself for a few days.”  
    “ I can’t miss Beth’s service tomorrow.”
    “ Okay. Guess I can understand that.” He gave me a quick peck on the cheek and hefted his suitcase. “I’ll see you in a few days then,” he said, turning towards the door. “Give Brian a hug for me, will ya?”
    A small part of me wanted to go with him. The notion of warm weather almost made me change my mind. But then I flashed back to a business trip I’d made with him to Las Vegas several years ago. The company he worked for, Ace Technologies was hosting its annual conference. He’d assured me we’d have lots of time to do fun things together between his meetings. It hadn’t turned out that way. I’d spent most of my time by myself, watching pay-per-view movies in the hotel room. Good times. Shaking off the memories, I got dressed.  
     
    Twenty-five minutes later I was walking into the office, half expecting to see Beth sitting at her desk. Reality lost no time in slapping me hard me across the face. It always fascinated me that a person could be alive one minute and gone the next and the world kept on going just the same.  
    I set my purse on the desk and began to flip through the pages of the appointment book. It became apparent as I leafed through the client files how organized Beth had been. Six weeks ago, when Daniel had suggested that I hire someone to help me run the business, I had thought